Saturday in the park

Here are a few shots I took on 1/31. It was a bitterly cold (single-digits °F) morning, at the end of a cold week following a round of sleet and snow on Tuesday night and Wednesday. The snow still looked fresh even though it had been on the ground for several days, and many of the trees were ice covered. These first shots are from nearby Clifton Gorge. When I got there, another guy told me I'd encounter this frozen waterfall in perfect light about 500 yards in. Having decided to go on the spur of the moment and snapping other shots along the way, I nearly ran out of battery before I had a chance to shoot this one! (I've got to buy an extra!) But he was definitely right about the lighting. I'd been playing around with the manual exposure settings on my digital (Kodak P712), which is as close as I've ever gotten to "real" photography. I'm really pleased with the results!

I've noticed these trees growing from the side of the Gorge many times before. This morning I was also trying to capture the ice-covered twigs which show up pretty well on the left side of the color version of this shot. The printed black-and-white version looks almost drawn rather than photographed, like a piece of sci-fi/fantasy art, especially near the bottom. I'm not sure how that will show up in the reduced-resolution online version.

This one was shot before the others, at home before I went to the Gorge. There's a lot going on for a simple-looking photo. I love the interplay of light and shadow, especially on the vertical posts supporting the lattice. The path worn in the snow from the porch door was from our dog (Col. Potter) going out to do his business throughout the week. But my favorite part of the picture is pretty subtle: there's a thin horizontal line of sunlight peeking through the snow on top of the railing, on the right. It (along with some shots of the sunlight glistening on icicles, which I might post later) was what got me playing around with the manual settings in the first place; the automatic exposure settings just wouldn't capture it, and that thin, glowing line that so captivated me was completely lost in the snow above and below it. Switched to manual, and on my third adjustment (on a different shot, taken from the porch doorway) - BINGO! (You'll see it better if you click on the link.) Then I was heading down for a couple shots in the back yard, happened to look back where I'd been, and saw this shot. It doesn't seem as effective in monochrome, but I may tweak it a bit more and try again.